Country’s Hunter Hayes one of Kansas State Fair’s headlining acts

Up-and-coming country singer Hunter Hayes will be one of the headline acts for this year’s Kansas State Fair.

Hayes is slated to perform Saturday, Sept. 6. The fair also announced that Sawyer Brown and Aaron Tippin will take the stage Sunday, Sept. 7. Also on the fair’s lineup so far is a Country Gold concert starring Leroy Van Dyke, Jimmy Fortune of the Statler Brothers, T.G. Sheppard and Eddy Raven.

Fair Manager Denny Stoecklein said five more concerts will be announced in coming weeks. This year’s state fair is Sept. 5-14.

Hayes’ guarantee is $200,000 – one of the more expensive acts in the past few years. Hayes, a singer and songwriter, has been singing professionally since he was in preschool, performing the song “Jambalaya” with Hank Williams Jr. at age 4.

In the past two years, Hayes has had two No. 1 singles: “Wanted” and “Somebody’s Heartbreak.” Other top 20 hits include “I Want Crazy” and “Storm Warning.”

Tickets to his concert start at $37.50.

Sawyer Brown has released 20 studio albums, of which three have been certified gold in the United States. More than 50 of the band’s singles have entered the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, including three No. 1 singles. Popular songs include “Leona,” “Step That Step,” “The Dirt Road” and “Some Girls Do.”

Tickets start at $26.

The Country Gold concert is slated for Sept. 9. Tickets are $28.

Also featured at the grandstand is an Outlaw Truck and Tractor Pull at 3 p.m. Sept. 14. A demolition derby is slated for 7:30 p.m. Sept. 8.